Losses widen at Styles & Wood

SHOPFITTING and property services group Styles & Wood has posted a first half loss, blaming deferred spending and challenging conditions.

In May the Altrincham group warned half-year profits would be “significantly below” last year’s figure due to a challenging first quarter.

Today it posted a pre-tax loss of £2m in the six months to June down from a loss of £500,000 last time. Revenues were static at £40.4m. However, the group expects to see an improvement in the second half.

Chief executive Tony Lenehan said: “These results reflect a challenging period for Styles & Wood. The group has made significant investments as part of its diversification strategy to widen the service offering and enter into new sectors which has impacted on margins and profitability for the first half.

“However, a return on these investments is now being seen with ongoing improvement in our visibility of future revenue across a number of sectors. Consequently, the board anticipates an uplift in profitability in the second half of 2013.”